Flowering photo heavy garden update

        The garden is doing wonderful and finally starting to put out food. Everythng is flowering and a new surprise is discovered everyday out there it seems. So far I've harvested 3 cucumbers which were devoured almost the second they were hastily pulled from the vine, and 1 zephyr squash which was harvested the day I got my new kitchen scale...it was 2oz. exactly. I've also harvested about a pound of lemon basil. I bought lemon basil this year to kind of venture out of the herb "norm" and the moment the little seedlings popped up I knew I had made a good choice. I use it in EVERYTHING; tea, chicken, fish, fruit leather. To me it smells and tastes like Lemon Heads and Fruity Pebbles. And grows like this....

                                     I've learned 4 plants is definitely not enough for my needs.

So now for the photos...

All the eggplants are flowering. Hopefully soon We'll be seeing some signs of fruit.

Tiny little zuke begging to be sauteed in butter

Beautiful Zephyr Flower

This zephyr plant had like 8 little zephyr Squash.

The cape gooseberries are flowering and when the little yellow flower falls off it turns into this...

Though I've never grown Cape Gooseberries before I assume that inside this little lantern a berry is forming

potato flowers

Sweet potatoes are looking good.

Mici Hybrid just waiting to be sliced into a salad.

Deliatesse Cucumber flower

Every single tomato plant is loaded with tomatoes...now the wait begins...

I'm curious about this funky little siamese tomato.

welp that's that...

How's your garden growing?



garden update

It's been hot....really hot. But the garden seems to love it. There's been some fun new last minute additions to the garden....

Our local grocery store had blueberry bushes on sale so we picked up four. I think 2 were called Misty and 2 sunshine. They all have ripe blueberries on them and the small handful I've gotten have been pretty good.

My Great Great Grandma Florence gave me a bag of some old seeds she had. She is 97 and though she doesnt garden anymore, for a woman nearing 100 she's pretty energetic. I truly believe I got my garden gene from her. All of the seeds I planted germinated which was a nice surprise I planted....

Christmas Limas.

Hyacinth. Now these were most curious. They were in a bag labeled simply "Thomas Jefferson. DO NOT EAT". And with further research I learned they were hyacinth seeds from Monticello. And with even more research I learned that if cooked/picked properly and at the right time they were in fact edible. I'm really excited to see what comes of these.

Last but not least, Butternut squash.

It's nice to have a bit of the garden I played in as a child, in the garden I'm growing as an adult.

Now for a photo heavy tour of the garden (dont mind the weeds or bug eaten leaves....organic/lazy gardening is not pretty)

Strawberry popcorn, Mammoth grey sunflowers

Easter egg radishes (we've gotten about 20 so far)

Tomatoes. They've all got flowers but so far no fruit.

Ping Tung/ Rosa Bianca Eggplants. Something has been munching heavily on them.

Purple podded/ kentucky blue pole beans and christmas Limas

Delikatesse cucumbers and mexican sour gherkins

To give you an idea how miniature the mexican gherkins are, here is one growing right beside a Delikatesse cucumber and they're both the same age.

potatoes

Onions

summer squash, some were planted last minute or to replace bad germination spots so theyre all at different stages.

Kiwano

Mici Hybrid cucumbers, which are LOADED with tiny cukes. (I was hesitant about these, you know hybrid and all but we stuck a few of these in the ground last year and they were the best tasting...I chalk it up to being of an asian variety. These were all the left over seeds so next year I'll get an heirloom asian variety...to help me feel less guilty.

Winter Squash, spaghetti and butternut on the trellis and jack-o-lantern in the back. they'll get pulled into the yard.

Sweet Peppers

Giant Cape Gooseberries

And that's that.

What wasnt photographed was the herb bed which is doing loverly. And the carrots which are not doing so loverly. I think it's the heat and my inability to keep them constantly moist. But I'm hoping to get maybe 30 carrots and with what I planted, that's not so good. Though I'll assume slow/bad germination and blame it on the seeds.....

How's your garden a'growin'?

Pumpkin Banana "mini breads"

Last summer for some bizarre reason I thought planting about 30 pumpkin plants was a good idea.......For a family of 2 it's alittle much. Let's just say the freezer is still full of pumpkin puree, though with intense pumpkin dessert baking and giving family and friends bags of pumpkin I've got it down to about 18 Cups.

Here is DELICIOUS recipe that was created by taking all the odds and ends of the baking cabinet and throwing it into the mixing bowl...

PUMPKIN BANANA "MINI BREADS"

1 CUP of brown sugar
1/2 CUP white sugar
1/2 CUP vegetable oil
2 eggs
Splash of vanilla
3 CUPS pumpkin puree
1 large mashed banana
1/4 CUP milk
1 3/4 CUPS whole wheat flour
1 tsp. baking soda
1/2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
1 tsp. cinnamon
1 tsp. nutmeg
1/2 tsp. clove
1/2 tsp. allspice
1/2 tsp. ginger
1/2 CUP oats
1/3 CUP shredded coconut

Preheat oven to 350*F.
Mix together the sugar, oil, and eggs.
Add banana, pumpkin, vanilla,and milk.
Mix together flour, baking soda and powder, salt, spices, oats and coconut.
Slowly add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients.
Pour into greased muffin tins and sprinkle with oats.
Bake until toothpick comes out clean, about 20 minutes..
Cool, ENJOY!





what's popping up....

Sunflowers are popping up!

As is the Strawberry popcorn. It's a minature variety and should only get about 4-5' tall.

The radish seedlings look like butterflies.

Yay for bean sprouts!

Tiny little Mexican Sour Gherkins!

Delikatesse Cucumbers

Little summer squash seedling. I cant remember if it is a black beauty zuke or an early prolific straight neck.

Little Kiwano seedlings.

Mici Hybrids are flowering!!

Little volunteer Jack-o-lantern pumpkin!

Little peppers are forming!

How does your garden look?



Everything is finally in the garden

Well, the garden is FINALLY in the ground. It's 45'x30', which is quite abit larger than last year. Also hopefully alot more organized than last year.

To give you an idea here's what's going on in the garden....

64 sqft. strawberry popcorn bed

132 sqft. tomato bed

               - Roman Candle

               - Pink Cherry

               - Striped Roman

               - Ananas Noire "black pinneapple"

               - Pink Brandywine

               - Amish Paste

72 sqft. Giant Cape Gooseberry bed

6' of Easter egg Radishes

20' of cucumbers

                - Mexican Sour Gherkin (Melothria Scabra)

                - Delikatesse

                - Mici Hybrid

25' of pole beans

                - Purple podded

                - Kentucky Blue

40 sqft. eggplant bed

                - Ping Tung

                - Rosa Bianca

76 sqft. summer squash beds

                - Early Prolific Straightneck yellow squash

                - Black Beauty Zuchini

                - Zephyr (F1)

64 sqft. sweet pepper bed

                - Red Marconi

                - Yellow Marconi

                - Red Belgian

15 sqft. herb bed

                - Lemon Basil

                - Cilantro

                - Dill-Bouquet

                - Stevia

18 sqft. Carrot bed

                - Amarillo

                - Chantenay Red Core

50 sqft. Russet Potato Bed

50 sqft. Onion bed

                - white

                - red

                - extra large sweet

8' of Kiwano (Cucumis Metuliferus)

15' of Winter Squash

                - Spaghetti Squash

                - Jack-o-lantern Pumpkin

24 sqft. flower bed

                - zinnia Lilliput

                - Gaillardia Indian Blanket

                - Strawflower Tall Double Mix

                - Brocade Mix Marigold

20' of Mammoth Grey Sunflower

Having tomato plants to check on every morning really makes it feel like summer. It's been HOT and dry here upper 80's but today is supposed to be cloudy and then hopefully a few days of rain.

There was a moment when all the seedlings were really looking zapped but they seem to be getting their garden feet.

Only thing to do is get some straw and patiently wait for all the seeds to germinate!

Hardening off.......

Welp Today was the first day that the tomatoes, peppers, eggplant, basil, gooseberries, and zinnias got to experience a couple hours of outdoor livin'.

Just a couple more weeks and everything will be in the garden.

How's your garden going?

And how was your Easter weekend?

It's that time again

The garden has been tilled and the seeds have been started.

So the 2012 summer garden goes something like this:

Tomatoes

- pink brandywine

- roman candle

- striped roman

- ananas noire

- amish paste

- pink cherry

Peppers

- red belgian

- red marconi

- golden marconi

Carrots

- amarillo

- chantenay red core

Cucumbers

- mexican sour gherkin (not so much a cucumber but close enough)

- delikatesse

- mici hybrid

Eggplant

- ping tung

- rosa bianca

Squash

- spaghetti

- black beauty zucchini

- early prolific straightneck

Beans

- purple podded pole

- kentucky blue

Onions

- white

- red

- extra large sweet

Strawberry popcorn

Kiwano

Giant cape gooseberry

Easter egg radish

Cilantro

Dill

Lemon basil

Mammoth grey sunflower

Frosted queen mix bachelor's button

Double tall mix strawflower

Brocade mix marigolds

lilliput zinnia

Gaillardia indian blanket

It's been in the 80's and sunny here lately and I love it! It's been raining almost every night so I've not had a dry garden to get into. though forecasts say rain tonight and then clear the rest of the week. Hopefully I'll have a bunch marked off my to-do list by this weekend.